A statue of the Greek goddess of justice Themis near the building of the Court of Appeal in Kyiv. (UNIAN)

Yurydychna Gazeta, a Ukrainian trade publication, introduced a new annual survey in 2010 called “Client Choice: The Top 100 Best Lawyers of Ukraine,” to assist corporate lawyers and businesses in finding the best legal counsel.

It conducted a similar survey of the Top SO Lawyers in 2006 and 2008. They increased the total to 100 in 2010.

Such surveys give opportunities to young and promising, though less experienced and less famous lawyers. The surveys also help lawyers assess which qualifications they need for career growth.

The survey is based on responses – all confidential -from managers and in-house lawyers from about 2,000 leading Ukrainian and international companies operating in Ukraine (according to Forbes-Ukraine and Delo.ua) that work with Ukrainian law firms and international law firms in Ukraine.

The methodology and ideas underlying the survey belong to Yurydychna Gazeta. The market research agency Noksfishes is the project partner and conducts the analysis.

Respondents received a list of 17 legal practice categories and were asked to fill in the names of the best lawyers, according to his or her experience working with them. The major criteria for the survey were objectivity, impartiality, client-orientation, and transparency. Within the top 100, there is no ranking.

Oleksiy Feliv, a partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel, believes the Top 100 Best Lawyers is “a fair and objective ranking that provides for a good market overview of outstanding lawyers.”

But others aren’t so sure about the value of such rankings. Andriy Stelmashchuk, a partner at Vasil Kisil & Partners, is skeptical about Ukrainian rankings. He believes that lawyers should continue caring more about the quality of their legal services than the results of ratings.

Based on survey results, it appears that the Ukrainian legal market is rejuvenating. Clients praise a growing for a number of young lawyers in their specialization, education and diversity.

The Top 100 ranking includes many young lawyers, perhaps a natural evolution as an older generation of lawyers moves on to politics and public service or takes the ranks of top managers in their firms.

Despite the turnover, many in the Top 100 in previous years still retain their positions.

Another trend shows that lawyers working for multifac-eted law firms covering a wide range of services score high. Clients have become more exacting. While they strive to obtain quality service from a law firm with specific areas of specialization, they also need assistance in other law-related fields, such as taxation and due diligence.

Because of the survey and its results, it is clear that the Ukrainian law market is becoming more competitive. In the next decade, it seems, only the strongest – and most diversified – will survive.

The following list is published in alphabetical order as the ranking does not attempt to sort the lawyers qualitatively from 1 to 100.